How the scam works:
Business owners are the targets of this scam occuring all over the United States lately. They will receive a very official looking email from the “Federal Trade Commission” advising them of a consumer complaint. The email provides a link to the FTC website where you supposedly will be able to download a PDF of the complaint.
What happens, of course, is that once you have clicked on the link, your PC is infected with malware that scans your computer for personal and banking information.
How to avoid:
Be aware that scammers have gotten very sophisticated in providing legitimate looking links to what appear to be “official” websites. Also, it is not difficult for them to steal the colors, logos and email header of the FTC or another established program.
Never click on a link in an email unless you have verified that it comes from the agency which it’s reporting. You can also check a link’s true destination by hovering the mouse over it and then looking in the lower right hand corner of your browser. Also, Google the organization or excerpts from the contents of the email, as this will typically show an alert to the scam or will bring you to the organizations real website which may have further information regarding the scam.
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